VICTORIA.

New Zealander, Volume 8, Issue 619, 20 March 1852, Page 3

VICTORIA.

[From the Sydney Morning Herald, Feb. 21.] The February sittings of the Supreme Criminal Court commenced on the 10th instant, at Melbourne, when the commissions of Mr. Justice a'Bockett, as Chief Justice of Victoria, and of Mr. Barry, as Puisne Judge, were read. The following is an abstract o f the Chief Justice's charge to the jury : His Honor commenced by congratulating the colonists upon the change which had taken place both in the colony and the court since last a session for the administration of justice was held beneath its roof. After an eloquent allusion to the highly favourable prospects of Victoria when the boon of separation was conceded to it ; to, its gradual but sure progress in social happiness and commercial prosperity ; and to its resolute encounter with the many difficulties which had threatened it; His Honor thus proceeded to the extraordinary change in the aspect of its affairs, occasioned by the discovery of the gold fields : — A change, however, quickly came over the brightness of its prospects, which for a moment seemed to destroy all the promises of its primal dawn. Scarcely had died away the echoes of the exultant strains with which its independence bad been welcomed, when it was announced that, in the land from which we had but just rejoiced at our separation, a spell had been discovered more tempting than the greenest pastures or the richest soil — more enticing than the possession of nocks and herds, in whatever security or profusion, more powerful than the ties of home and kindred, even when endeared by woll-rewarded industry, pursued amid&t the most tranquil scenes, beneath the sunniest &ki«?. Such was ihe nature of the announcement which with ominous vibration trembled along the electric wires of rumour, until the intimations which they hud given of the truth were succeeded by actual confirmation. I allude, of course, to the discovery of gold in New South Wales, which by its poweiful attractions threatened to draw off, not only the worst, but the most useful and industrious portion of the population of this and the neighbouring colonies. Against the temptations of California we had fell comparatively secure, for the amount of immigration thither from this part of Australia had ever been insignificant ; and for tbe most part made up of those whose departure was felt to be anything but a loss. * But the vicinity of the parent colony, and its resemblance to our own in its social and moral aspect 4 -, as well as in its climate and resources, operand as a magnet, the effect of whose attraction we migh^well contemplate with alarm Providentially, hovy'ever, as it seemed, the sppll had, hardly begun to work, before a counter charm was discovered in our own colony, more powerful than even that against which it was now set in opposition. The tide suddenly recoiled, and a reaction took placp, and is now going on so rapidly and constantly, that not only did tbe colony recover the numbers it had been gradually losing for weeks, but in the last few days a population has been gradually pouring in upon our shores at a rate bo astounding, that if tbe influx be continued in an equally increasing ratio for twelve, months longer, we shall, within that, time, have doublejd the whole of the numbers we have been gathering in 'Port Phillip during the fifteen years that have elapsed fiom the period of its foundation. I have said that the reaction thus called into existence appeared providential, and coming, as it did, at a time of apprehension for the loss of that kind of labour of which the colony must for many years ever stand in need, we might well hail any event which added to our numerical strength as a boon and a blessing. It did not, however, require the vision of prophecy to fortel that the accession would prove of little service to the legitimate wants of the colony, if it wero caused, simply by the attraction of a similar t>pell' to that by whicli its numbers had been previously diminished. In a short time this truth bee .me painfully mhnifest : the di-coveiy of gold first at Ballarat and afterwards at'Rlount Alexander, caused a simultaneous rush towards those localities, which not only emptied our towns and our fields of their former occupanib, but carried away with it at the lwstant of landing, every fresh arrival on our shores. The merchant haw his counting-house suddenly deserted ; the tradesman, his shop ; the agriculturist, his farm ; the squatter, his station ; whilst offers contemptuously refused, or demands too exorbitant to be complied with, obliged many to abandon their vocation altogether, and, for a time at least, to resort to the very pursuit against whose seductions they were not wealthy or bold enough to bid defiance. Having dwelt at some length upon the evils already suffered and still to be endured by the indiscriminate rush of all classes to the gold mines, II is Honor in a more powerful tone thus proceeded :—: — Fortunately, however, for the gold seekers, iipwcotners as well as residents enter upon their alluring vocation, in a country where the elements of civilization have been lor some time in full operation ; and notwithstanding the enormous amount of indirect taxation which the non-digging population pay us the price of their adherence to other pursuits— the difficulties which the government has had 'to contend wiih in keeping at work its official machinery, and in maintaining in any dcgieu of order and security amidst an increasing population and a diminishing police — in spite the disheaitening drag which bung* upon the efforts of all who attempt to counteract or check the spread of

the gold mania— there is yet unimpaired among us the basis of a moral and social fabric, whose presei ration and security are of infinitely more impoitance to tlifl true welfaie of the colony than that of the ore diggu'o tent, or the ore digge 's gold. Let me not be misunderstood. I have said that inconvenience, discomfoit, and expense, are matters to be lightly complained of by those on whom they fall, if no worse results are to follow from the present position of affairs. What 1 would say is this :— lf we can still pieserve the high standing we have attained as a British colony, by continuing that venei ation for law, order, and religion, so characteristic of the mighty nation from which we have sprung ; by carrying on and supporting those institutions which have hitherto, though but imperfectly, helped to advance our moral and intellectual progress — by encouraging industry and capital to embaikin those legitimate u^es of the soil which has attracted to our shores the most respected and thriving of our resident colonists ; and by effecting a morerapd supply of those physical wants and conveniences, of which Victoria, no less than Port Phillip, still stands so greatly in need ; then may we calmly bear the shock we are encountering, and look upon the convulsion that is shaking us, as one that will eventually be succeeded by a more settled and harmonized state of things, 1 fear, however, that until this concentration of mass after mass upon the locality of the gold fields that is now going on be checked or discountenanced, no such change can occur. Little anxious am I, therefore, to »>ee the crowds assembling there, surrounded with more facilities for pursuing their labour, than the exigencies of their position, so far as peace and oider are concerned, absolutely demand. For independently of more general considerations, there is not a single gold digger at Mount Alexander whom want has driven, or who at least need be driven by want to the pursuit : whilst the colonists who keep away are suffering, both nationally and individually, from the effects of the concentration that is gathering there. The call for sympathy , I confess, falls dead upon my ear horn persons who have voluntarily hazarded, for the mere hake of lucre, the dangeis to which they are exposed. Complaints come from them with an ill grace of either the language they hear, the sights they witness, or the privations they undergo. We may regret, moreover, but we cannot be astonished, that amid a collection of thirty or forty thousand human beings, congregated together with the avowed purpose of seeking for gold on the same spot, there should be the elements of almost certain crime and certain strife ; and they who help to swell the mass must not only expect immunity from its perils, but should remember that they are in a colony whose government has other interests to protect and other expenses to meet, than tho«e to which the fatal facility of gold digging has so suddenly given rise. Yes — there are worthier and nobler temples than that of Flutus which require its guardianship ; other, though less numerous, votaries than those paying homage to him, who stand in need of its protection and support. Recommending these truths, unpalatable however they might be, to the earnest consideration of those who were so deeply interested in profiting by them, and warning them that if roused from their midnight slumbers by prowling marauders bent on seizing their gold, the diggers must reflect how far their own choice has placed them in such peril ; His> Honor thus alluded to the demoralizing and feaiful responsibility of taking, as it is called, the law into their own hands :—: — Whether any such case has alrecirty occurred in the locality of which 1 have spoken, 1 know not ; but if rumour may be trusted, it is to be feared that theianges of Mount Alexander aro hot altogether free from the stigma that attaches to the name of California. If it be true that an individual found stealing gold was seized, bound, and flung into a wateihole, where he was left to drown, all who participated in the act were as much guilty of murder as the criminals, who have been tried at this bar, and executed for the crime. Let us hope that the report of such outrages is exaggerated ; if it be founded on fact, it is the commencement of a '* Reign of Terror," which has never before dared to show itself on British ground ; but it is one, I persuade myself, which will be but of brief duration in this or any other dominion of the British Crown. Let me not be told that the " digger'' has no other resource but his own strong arm— if he can seize the thief that robs him he can secure his person until he be lodged in the custody of the law ; and if he escape, there remains the knowledge of his identity, through winch ho may at any time be apprehended. The perpetrator of a felony is liable to be taken and brought to justice by any man, whether he be a constable or not ; and 1 cannot conceive what difficulty there could be in finding the means of securing the person of a felon at Mount Alexander, until the anival of a police o'licer, into whose chaigehe might be delivered. There would, no doubt, be the expense, inconvenience, and delay of attending to give evidence against him ; but is that any reason why the criminal's life should be sacrificed on the spot, without foim or enquiry; his accusers Ins judges; — his judges, his executioners ; and his penalty, for an offence which the law visits only with imprisonment — death. If this be what is called popular justice, God be thanked it is of a different kind fiom that which we sit to administer here ! The leproach which once lay on our Statute Book, of a code written in blood, has long been wiped away ; but it is a code which it seems a Christian populace, in the middle of the nineteenth century, would be still willing 10 adopt. How such a code will work let the annaU of California attest. We have seen there how little of justice or mercy a criminal has met with at the hands of the self-styled "Vigilance Committee"— a body consisting of a sufficient number of men to be called the people, set up m opposition to the legal authorities of the land. Let it be a warning to all in this country of the danger of substituting brute force and popular passion for the calm and impartial administration of justice by those whom the law authorises to act as its ministers and officers. His Honor then concluded with a brief reference to the solemn duties to be performed by all those engaged in the administration of justice, and by adverting with deep regret to the heavy state of the calendar, the result, he feared, of the state of things he had been describing.